The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-03-05
TARIFF REFORM, NO. 8.

TARIFF Reform, NO, 8.
Le, us notice some of the false assump.
lions of protectionis,s, and some oI the APP
peals TO public prejudice, by which our
people have been led 10 support u system
that has been to their injury rather than TO
their benefit.
In like manner the South declared that
the growth of the country depended upon
slavery, and made northern politicians bow
down to their theories, till they overreach.
ed themselves and caused u reaction which
swept slavery away.
In like manner liquor dealers claim,
that, II the saloons are closed, the business
of a town will decline, and grass grow In
III. streets of Ottawa, or whatever other
town is striving TO get rid OF It's dens OF
vice.
There Is an old Latin proverb 10 express
this kind of reasoning " Post h0c, propter
hoe" Or, literally "GJter his, because Of
this" This means that because Il comes
after A, A Is the cause of B. If there were
no A then there could be no Is. Spectacles
we're made after noses; consequently noses
are the cause of spectacles. The Goodwin
Sands were not very dangerous till after
Tenterden steeple was built; consequently
Tenterden steeple WAS the cause OF Good
win Sands. There was great storm last
month just after the change OF the moon;
consequently the change of the moon was
the cause of the storm. This Is the reason
Ing of children or of thoughtless men. 1t
ia not befi'ting the discussion of a great
and complicated question. Still it Is con
stantly and repeatedly urged by men who
are capable of better things.
Here, for example, In a recent paper
find farmer telling how In early days In
Illinois, his wheat brought only 40 cents a
bushel, and his corn only ~ cents. The
present prices he attributes to the tariff.
lie has only to go out into the far west
as far as he then was from railroads and
markets-to find exactly the same state of
things today. Since the war, Nebraska
and Kansas farmers have burned their corn
for fuel, and have been glad TO sell 1t at IL
cents bushel. The Illinois Central was
very largely built by English capital. Sup.
pose claim that the Illinois Central and
English capital are the causes of our state
prosperity.
Seriously, It was not the desire to open
markets for manufacturers, but the desire
for cheaper bread that settled the West and
built our railroads. II Is absurd to take
one cause out of many, and say that this Is
the real and only cause of our prosperity.
Another false assumption Is that the
free trader does no. believe in manufactur,
es. This is idle talk. All the time spent
In such statements Is wasted breath. The
free trader believes in all manufactures
which can exist with mutual profit to the
manufacturer and consumer. He de-
nounces in particular every tax on raw
material which stands In the way Of the
manufacturer. He calls the attention of
the people persistently to the fact that even
with all our needless aud unjust restric-
lions, the unprotected manufacturers EN-.
ploy three times as many men as the pro
tected, employ more Intelligent class OF
men, especially of native Americans, pay
nl tiya IN 90 a " In
OF their product as do the protected manu-
features How many men today west of
Lake Michigan are working on protected
INDUSTRIES Take out the glass, iron and
zinc, and where are the rest Our great
cities that make farm machinery, our wire,
plow, wagon, and boot and shoe industries,
what does protection do for them' Our
wood. working establishments which are
mum bered by thousands, are all hlndered
rather than helped by tariff. Where are
the Gotten and wooden mills OF the West ?
so long as capital, by aid of protection, can
make more money out Of Its present In.
dustries, II will concentrate In few towns,
create great monopolis and make war on
free trade. Abolish exorbitant protection,
and manufacturers will multiply.
We never had free trade In America,
but 1t should not be forgotten that between
1850 and $3.50, when we had low tariff,
manufactures increased more rapidly than
they had ever done before or ever have
done since. More than that, the revenue
OF the government was in excess Of Its de-
mands Twice In our history, we have had
q surplus and have been out of debt; and
both times II was under low tariff.
Another false assumption, industriously
and most extensively used and appealing
only to vulgar prejudice, Is that q free
trader Is dlsloyal to his own country, and
Is trying to build up other countries, espec-